This photographic print is exceptionally rare, with another version held in the Archives Communales de Grasse, France, under the title Le peintre à l'ombrelle, Menton. Davanne's photograph is not only scarce but also arguably one of the earliest photographic depictions of an artist painting en plein air.
In 1854, Davanne co-founded the Société française de photographie. Collaborating with Aimé Girard, he researched photographic print preservation until 1863, leading to a positive-printing process. He refined photolithography techniques using bitumen of Judea and was a pioneer alongside Édouard Baldus, Roger Fenton, and Henri Le Secq. He twice won the Duc de Luynes Prize for his contributions.
During the 1860s, Davanne traveled through Normandy and the Bay of the Somme, photographing cities such as Tréport, Le Havre, Dieppe, and Trouville, followed by Provence the next year. His photographs of Menton illustrated Alphonse de Longperier-Grimoard’s book L’Hiver à Menton (1862).
